Devon Cole

I study the redox evolution of the Earth’s atmosphere - ocean system through time, and the relationship between environmental changes and the biosphere. I combine field geology, sedimentology, and trace metal geochemistry to tackle these problems, primarily in deep time. I have focused on the use of novel metal paleoredox proxies such as chromium and uranium isotopes as a tool to improve our understanding of oxygen availability through Earth’s early history and answer questions about the relationship between environment and biotic innovation.

Recently I have been exploring a range of other topics including the influence of UV radiation on planetary habitability, nutrient cycling through Earth’s history, Cr and U isotope proxy refinement in modern systems, and the use of large-scale publicly available databases to improve our understanding of redox-sensitive metal cycling.